Zechariah 14:17
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And it shall be, that whoever will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even on them shall be no rain.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And it shall be, that whoever will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even on them shall be no rain.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And it shall be, that whoso of all the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And it will be that if any one of all the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to give worship to the King, the Lord of armies, on them there will be no rain.
Webster's Revision
And it shall be, that whoever will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
World English Bible
It will be, that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn't go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies, on them there will be no rain.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And it shall be, that whoso of all the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.
Clarke's Zechariah 14:17 Bible Commentary
Upon them shall be no rain - Those who do not worship God shall not have his blessing; and those who do not attend Divine ordinances cannot have the graces and blessings which God usually dispenses by them. On such slothful, idle Christians, there shall be no rain!
Barnes's Zechariah 14:17 Bible Commentary
Whoso will not go up - Cyril: "To those who 'go not up,'" he threatens the same punishment as persecutors would endure. For enemies, and they who will not love, shall have the same lot. This is, I think, what Christ Himself said, 'Whoso is not with Me is against Me, and whoso gathereth not with Me scattereth' Luke 11:23."
Upon them there shall be no rain - Rain was the most essential of God's temporal gifts for the temporal well-being of His people. Moses marked out this, as his people were entering on the promised land, with recent memory of Egypt's independence of rain in Egypt itself, and that this gift depended on obedience. "The land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, whence, ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs" Deuteronomy 11:10-11 : but a "land of hills and valleys, it drinketh water of the rain of heaven; a land which the Lord thy God careth for; the eyes of the Lord are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. And it shall be, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments - I will give you the rain of your land in its season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn and thy wine and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full."
But the threat on disobedience corresponded therewith. "Take heed to yourselves," Moses continues, "that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside and serve other gods - and the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and He shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit, and ye perish quickly from off the good land, which the Lord giveth you" Deuteronomy 16-17; and, "Thy heaven, that is over thee, shall be brass, and the earth, that is under thee, shall be iron; the Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust" Deuteronomy 28:23-24. Amos speaks of the withdrawal of rain as one of God's chastisements (Amos 4:7. See vol. i. p. 28): the distress in the time of Ahab is pictured in the history of the woman of Sarepta 1 Kings 17:9-16, and Ahab's directions to Obadiah 1 Kings Obadiah 18:5. But it is also the symbol of spiritual blessings; both are united by Hosea Hos 6:3 and Joel Joe 2:23. as Joel and Amos also speak of spiritual blessings exclusively under the figure of temporal abundance Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13. In Isaiah it is simply a symbol, "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together" (Isaiah 45:8. See also Isaiah 5:6, both together Isaiah 30:23)